One word for Donald Trump’s firing of Comey: ‘Nixonian’

One word just keeps coming up in response to Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey: “Nixonian.” The comparison to Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre first came up on January 30 when Trump fired Sally Yates as acting attorney general, and it’s coming up a lot more with Trump’s firing of Comey, to whom he owes his office but who was also investigating his Russia ties.

The letter from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein detailing Comey’s abuses in his handling of Hillary Clinton’s emails does not pass the smell test as a reason for Trump to fire Comey—it might have been a reason for former President Obama to do so, but firing top officials in defense of his political opponents and the rule of law is not how Donald Trump rolls—and Jeff Sessions’ involvement in the firing after he said he would recuse himself from Russia-related decisions makes it stink all the worse.